Image coding apparatus, image coding method, image decoding apparatus, image decoding method, and program

ABSTRACT

An image coding apparatus configured to divide an image into one or more slices each including a plurality of blocks and to code each slice on a block-by-block basis includes a first coding unit configured to code blocks included in a first portion of the slice, and a second coding unit configured to code blocks included in a second portion of the slice, wherein, when the second coding unit codes an initial block in the second portion, the second coding unit codes the initial included in the second portion by referring to a first quantization parameter provided to the slice as an initial value and referred to by the first coding unit when the first coding units codes the initial block in the first portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/356,506, filed May 6, 2014, which is a national phase application ofinternational patent application PCT/JP2012/007065 filed on Nov. 5,2012, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2011-243940 filed Nov. 7, 2011, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an image coding apparatus, an imagecoding method, an image decoding apparatus, an image decoding method,and a program, and in particular, to a method for coding/decoding aquantization parameter in an image.

BACKGROUND ART

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (hereinafter referred to as “H.264”) is known as acoding method for use in compressing and recording a moving image (ITU-TH.264 (March 2010), Advanced video coding for generic audiovisualservices). According to H.264, a difference in a quantization parameterfrom a block coded immediately before the current block is coded asmb_qp_delta information, whereby a quantization parameter of each blockcan be an arbitrary value.

Then, it is coded using a conventional binary arithmetic coding methodadopted in H.264. More specifically, each syntax element such as theabove-described mb_qp_delta information is binarized, as a result ofwhich a binary signal is generated. An occurrence probability isassigned to each syntax element in advance as a table (hereinafterreferred to as an “occurrence probability table”). The above-describedbinary signal is arithmetically coded based on the occurrenceprobability table. Then, each time a binary signal is coded, theoccurrence probability table is updated based on statistical informationindicating whether the coded binary signal is the most probable symbol.

In recent years, an activity to standardize a further highly efficientcoding technology as a successor of H.264 has started, and JointCollaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) was established betweenISO/IEC, and ITU-T. JCT-VC has been standardized a coding technologycalled High Efficiency Video Coding (hereinafter referred to as “HEVC”).

In the standardization of HEVC, various kinds of coding methods havebeen widely considered in terms of not only improvement of codingefficiency but also other aspects including simplicity of implementationand a reduction in a processing time. To reduce a processing time,methods for improving parallelism have been also considered assumingthat the coding method is used on, for example, a multi-core CPU. One ofthem is a method for realizing parallel processing of entropycoding/decoding called “Wavefront” (JCT-VC contribution, JCTV-F274.docavailable on the Internet at<http://phenix.int-evry.fr/jct/doc_end_user/documents/6_Torino/wg11/>).A next coding target should be coded using an updated occurrenceprobability table, so the processing cannot be performed in parallelunless the statistical information is reset. However, this leads to sucha problem that resetting the statistical information deteriorates thecoding efficiency. In contrast, Wavefront makes it possible to codeblocks line by line in parallel, while preventing the coding efficiencydeterioration, by applying an occurrence probability table obtained atthe time of completion of coding a plural pre-specified number of blocksto the leftmost block in the next line. This is mainly a description ofencoding process, but it is also applicable to decoding process.

However, Wavefront makes it possible to improve parallelism ofarithmetic coding/decoding of each line, but actually, quantization andinverse quantization cannot be performed until the quantizationparameter of the immediately preceding block in raster scan isdetermined. Therefore, even the current implementation of Wavefront hasa problem of inability to perform entire coding/decoding processing inparallel.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is directed to enabling parallel coding/decodingas entire processing including quantization/inverse quantizationprocessing when blocks are coded/decoded line by line in parallel withthe use of the Wavefront method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an image codingapparatus configured to divide an image into one or more slices eachincluding a plurality of blocks and to code each slice on ablock-by-block basis includes first coding means configured to codeblocks included in a first portion of the slice, and second coding meansconfigured to code blocks included in a second portion of the slice,wherein, when the second coding means codes the initial block in thesecond portion, the second coding means codes the initial block includedin the second portion by referring to a first quantization parameterprovided to the slice as an initial value and referred to by the firstcoding means when the first coding means codes the initial block in thefirst portion.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it ispossible to realize parallel coding/decoding as entire processingincluding quantization/inverse quantization processing when blocks arecoded/decoded line by line in parallel with use of the Wavefront method.

Further features and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of exemplaryembodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, features,and aspects of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagecoding apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates configurations of block lines.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a frame by theimage coding apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a top blockline by the image coding apparatus according to the first exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a block lineother than the top block line by the image coding apparatus according tothe first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a block by theimage coding apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7A illustrates a transfer of a quantization parameter by theconventional image coding apparatus.

FIG. 7B illustrates a transfer of a quantization parameter by the imagecoding apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagedecoding apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a frame bythe image decoding apparatus according to the second exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a top blockline by the image decoding apparatus according to the second exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a block lineother than the top block line by the image decoding apparatus accordingto the second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a block bythe image decoding apparatus according to the second exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a computer employable as the image coding apparatusesand image decoding apparatuses according to the exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagecoding apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a top blockline by the image coding apparatus according to the third exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a block lineother than the top block line by the image coding apparatus according tothe third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 17A illustrates a transfer of a quantization parameter by the imagecoding apparatus according to the third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 17B illustrates a transfer of a quantization parameter by the imagecoding apparatus according to the third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagedecoding apparatus according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a top blockline by the image decoding apparatus according to the fourth exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a block lineother than the top block line by the image decoding apparatus accordingto the fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagecoding apparatus according to a fifth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a top blockline according to the fifth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating processing for coding a block lineother than the top block line according to the fifth exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagedecoding apparatus according to a sixth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a top blockline according to the sixth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating processing for decoding a block lineother than the top block line according to the sixth exemplaryembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the inventionwill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an image coding apparatusaccording to a first exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a selector 101 determines whether a processingtarget block belongs to an even-numbered block line. The selector 101outputs the block to a first coding unit 102 if the block belongs to aneven-numbered block line, and otherwise outputs the block to a secondcoding unit 103.

The first and second coding units 102 and 103 code blocks, into which aninput image is divided by n×n pixels (“n” is a positive integer of 2 orlarger), line by line as illustrated in FIG. 2 (the units correspondingto “first coding means” and “second coding means”, and “coding blocksincluded in a first portion of the slice” and “coding blocks included ina second portion of the slice” in the claims). Hereinafter, a line ofblocks will be referred to as a “block line”. The present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on an example using two coding units,but the present invention is not limited thereto. Referring to FIG. 2, asection 201 indicated as a square drawn by a thin line represents ablock, and a section 202 indicated as a rectangle drawn by a thick linerepresents a block line. Further, blocks in white areas, which indicateeven-numbered block lines including a top block line (the 0-th blockline), are coded by the first coding unit 102. Blocks in shaded areas,which indicate odd-numbered block lines, are coded by the second codingunit 103.

Each of the first and second coding units 102 and 103 first generatesprediction errors according to the prediction by referring to pixelssurrounding the coding target block or another frame, and performsorthogonal transform to generate transform coefficients. Next, each ofthe first and second coding units 102 and 103 determines a quantizationparameter for the orthogonally transformed transform coefficients, andquantizes each transform coefficient to generate quantizationcoefficients. Next, each of the first and second coding units 102 and103 binarizes each syntax element including the quantizationcoefficients to generate binary signals. An occurrence probability isassigned to each syntax element in advance as a table (hereinafterreferred to as an “occurrence probability table”). The binary signalsare arithmetically coded based on the above-described occurrenceprobability table. Then, each time a binary signal is coded, theoccurrence probability table is updated using statistical informationindicating whether the coded binary signal is the most probable symbol.

A first occurrence probability table storage unit 104 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the first coding unit 102.Hereinafter, the occurrence probability table stored in the firstoccurrence probability table storage unit 104 will be referred to as a“first occurrence probability table”.

A first quantization parameter storage unit 105 stores the quantizationparameter determined by the first coding unit 102. Hereinafter, thequantization parameter stored in the first quantization parameterstorage unit 105 will be referred to as a “first quantizationparameter”.

A second occurrence probability table storage unit 106 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the second coding unit 103.Hereinafter, the occurrence probability table stored in the secondoccurrence probability table storage unit 106 will be referred to as a“second occurrence probability table”.

A second quantization parameter storage unit 107 stores the quantizationparameter determined by the second coding unit 103. Hereinafter, thequantization parameter stored in the second quantization parameterstorage unit 107 will be referred to as a “second quantizationparameter”.

An integration coding unit 108 integrates coded data generated by thefirst coding unit 102 and coded data generated by the second coding unit103, and outputs the integrated data as a bit stream.

An operation of the image coding apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6. In the present exemplaryembodiment, moving image data is input frame by frame, is divided intoblocks, and is processed in raster order. The present exemplaryembodiment is configured to input moving image data frame by frame, butmaybe configured to input still image data corresponding to one frame orto input image data slice by slice, which a frame is divided into.Further, for simplification of description, the present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on only intra prediction codingprocessing, but is not limited thereto. The present exemplary embodimentcan be also employed to inter prediction coding processing.

First, in step S301, the image coding apparatus determines whether aprocessing target block belongs to a top block line. If the blockbelongs to the top block line (YES in step S301), the processingproceeds to step S302. If the block does not belong to the top blockline (NO in step S301), the processing proceeds to step S303.

The processing of step S302 is processing for coding the top block line,the details of which will be described below. The processing of stepS303 is processing for coding a block line other than the top blockline, the details of which will be also described below. Further, theselector 101 determines whether the block line to which the processingtarget block belongs is an even-numbered block line or an odd-numberedbock line. If the block line is an even-numbered block line, theprocessing target block is coded by the first coding unit 102independently. If the block line is not an even-numbered block line, theprocessing target block is coded by the second coding unit 103independently.

Next, in step S304, the integration coding unit 108 integrates codeddata output from the first coding unit 102 and coded data output fromthe second coding unit 103, and generates and outputs a bit stream.

Next, in step S305, the image coding apparatus determines whether allblock lines in the processing target frame are coded. If all block linesare coded (YES in step S305), the processing for coding one frame isended. If not all block lines are coded (NO in step S305), theprocessing proceeds to step S301 again, and coding of the next blockline starts.

The processing of step S302 (the processing for coding the top blockline) will be described in detail with reference to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 4. The top block line is an even-numbered blockline, so the processing target block is input into the first coding unit102 by the selector 101, and is coded by the first coding unit 102.

First, in step S401, a quantization parameter, based on which a block iscoded, is initialized so as to match an initial value of a quantizationparameter for a slice. Hereinafter, the quantization parameter, based onwhich a block is coded, will be referred to as a “block referencequantization parameter”. Regarding a quantization parameter used toquantize a coding target block, the value thereof itself is not coded asa syntax element, but a difference value thereof from the blockreference quantization parameter is coded. In the present exemplaryembodiment, this difference value corresponds to a value of cu_qp_deltain the HEVC method. However, the present invention is not limitedthereto, and for example, the above-described difference value maycorrespond to a code of mb_qp_delta in the H.264 method. Next, in stepS402, an occurrence probability table is initialized by a predeterminedmethod. The initialized occurrence probability table is used toarithmetically code the first binary signal of the leftmost block in theblock line, and is updated as necessary in step S403, which will bedescribed below. Hereinafter, the occurrence probability table used toarithmetically code the first binary signal of the leftmost block in ablock line will be referred to as a “block line reference occurrenceprobability table”.

Next, in step S403, the first coding unit 102 codes pixel data block byblock.

In the present exemplary embodiment, one block is constituted by 64×64pixels, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The size of ablock may be a smaller size such as 32×32 pixels, or a larger size suchas 128×128 pixels. The block coding processing in step S403 will bedescribed in detail with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG.6.

First, in step S601, the first coding unit 102 performs intra predictionon an input image block with use of pixels surrounding the block togenerate prediction errors.

Next, in step S602, the first coding unit 102 performs orthogonaltransform on the prediction errors to generate transform coefficients.Further, the first coding unit 102 quantizes the transform coefficientsusing a quantization parameter (hereinafter referred to as a “blockquantization parameter”) determined based on, for example, thecharacteristics and the coding amount of the image to generatequantization coefficients.

Next, in step S603, the first coding unit 102 calculates a differencevalue between the above-described block reference quantization parameterand the block quantization parameter to generate a cu_qp_delta value.

Next, in step S604, the first coding unit 102 sets the blockquantization parameter used to code the processing target block to theblock reference quantization parameter, thereby updating the blockreference quantization parameter. The block reference quantizationparameter will be used to generate a cu_qp_delta value of a next block.

Next, in step S605, the first coding unit 102 binarizes each syntaxelement including the above-described cu_qp_delta value and theabove-described quantization coefficients to generate binary signals.The first coding unit 102 uses various kinds of binarization methodssuch as unary binarization and fixed-length binarization while switchingthe binarization method for each syntax element in a similar manner tothe H.264 method. Further, the first coding unit 102 arithmeticallycodes the binary signals based on the occurrence probability table.

Next, in step S606, the first coding unit 102 updates the occurrenceprobability table based on whether the arithmetically coded binarysignal is the most probable symbol.

Next, in step S607, the first coding unit 102 determines whether allsyntax elements in the block are arithmetically coded. If all syntaxelements are arithmetically coded (YES in step S607), the block codingprocessing is ended. If not all syntax elements are coded (NO in stepS607), the processing proceeds to step S605 again.

Referring back to FIG. 4, in step S404, the first coding unit 102determines whether a condition for storing the block referencequantization parameter is satisfied. In the present exemplaryembodiment, the condition for storing the block reference quantizationparameter is whether the block coded in step S403 is a leftmost block ina block line. If the condition is satisfied (YES in step S404), theprocessing proceeds to step S405. In step S405, the block referencequantization parameter is stored in the first quantization parameterstorage unit 105 as a first quantization parameter. If the condition isnot satisfied (NO in step S404), the processing proceeds to step S406.The first quantization parameter will be used as a block referencequantization parameter when the second coding unit 103 codes theleftmost block in the next block line.

Next, in step S406, the first coding unit 102 determines whether acondition for storing the occurrence probability table is satisfied. Inthe present exemplary embodiment, the condition for storing theoccurrence probability table is whether the block coded in step S403 isa predetermined number-th block from the leftmost block in the blockline. If this condition is satisfied (YES in step S406), the processingproceeds to step S407. In step S407, the occurrence probability table isstored in the first occurrence probability table storage unit 104 as afirst occurrence probability table. If the condition is not satisfied(NO in step S406), the processing proceeds to step S408. The firstoccurrence probability table will be used as a block line referenceoccurrence probability table when the second coding unit 103 codes theleftmost block in the next block line.

Next, in step S408, the first coding unit 102 determines whether allblocks in the processing target block line are coded. If all blocks arecoded (YES in step S408), coding of the top block line is ended. If notall blocks are coded (NO in step S408), the processing proceeds to stepS403 again. In step S403, the next block in raster order is coded.

The processing of step S303 (the processing for coding a block lineother than the top block line) will be described in detail withreference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5. The selector 101determines for each block line whether the block line is aneven-numbered block line. If the block line is an even-numbered blockline, an image of the processing target block line is input into thefirst coding unit 102 and is coded by the first coding unit 102. If theblock line is an odd-numbered block line, an image of the processingtarget block line is input into the second coding unit 103, and is codedby the second coding unit 103. First, a flow when the second coding unit103 codes an odd-numbered block line will be described.

First, in step S501, the first quantization parameter is input from thefirst quantization parameter storage unit 105 as a block referencequantization parameter. Next, in step S502, the first occurrenceprobability table is input from the first occurrence probability tablestorage unit 104 as a block line reference occurrence probability table.

The processing of steps S503, S504, S506, and S508 is similar to theprocessing of steps S403, S404, S406, and S408, and, therefore, thedescription thereof is omitted here.

In step S505, the block reference quantization parameter is stored inthe second quantization parameter storage unit 107 as a secondquantization parameter. The second quantization parameter will be usedas a block reference quantization parameter for a leftmost block in anext block line.

In step S507, the occurrence probability table is stored in the secondoccurrence probability table storage unit 106 as a second occurrenceprobability table. The second occurrence probability table will be usedas a block line reference occurrence probability table when the leftmostblock in the next block line is arithmetically coded.

Next, a flow when the first coding unit 102 codes an even-numbered blockline will be described.

First, in step S501, the second quantization parameter is input from thesecond quantization parameter storage unit 107 as a block referencequantization parameter. Next, in step S502, the second occurrenceprobability table is input from the second occurrence probability tablestorage unit 106 as a block line reference occurrence probability table.

The processing of steps S503 to S508 is similar to the processing ofsteps S403 to S408, and, therefore, the description thereof is omittedhere.

The above-described configuration and operation enable parallel encodingby allowing reference to the reference quantization parameter inaddition to the occurrence probability table during processing of aleftmost block even before the completion of processing of a block lineimmediately before the block line being coded. FIGS. 7A and 7B eachillustrate how the block reference quantization parameter is referredto. According to the conventional technique, as illustrated in FIG. 7A,until processing of a preceding block line is completed, processing of anext block line cannot start. However, according to the presentexemplary embodiment, by making the reference to a spatially upper blockpossible when a leftmost block is processed, which eventually allows areference pattern as illustrated in FIG. 7B, it becomes unnecessary towait for the completion of the preceding block line processing.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, a quantization parameterused at a leftmost block in an immediately upper block line is used as ablock reference quantization parameter when a leftmost block is coded.However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may beembodied by any configuration capable of improving parallelism ofprocessing block line by block line. For example, an initial value of aquantization parameter provided to a slice may be used as a blockreference quantization parameter when leftmost blocks in all block linesare coded. As another possible configuration, a block referencequantization parameter may be the same as the condition for storing theoccurrence probability table provided in steps S406 and S506. Morespecifically, a quantization parameter when a predetermined number-thblock from a leftmost block in a block line is coded may be used as ablock reference quantization parameter for a leftmost block in a nextblock line. Further, the image coding apparatus may be configured toswitch a block referred to as a block reference quantization parameterbased on a coding mode of a leftmost block.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, arithmetic coding is usedfor entropy coding, but the present invention is not limited thereto.Any coding may be employed, as long as, at the time of entropy codingbased on statistical information such as the occurrence probabilitytable, the statistical information in the middle of coding of a blockline is used to perform entropy coding of a leftmost block of a nextblock line.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described based on an exampleusing two coding units. However, it is apparent that the addition of,for example, a third coding unit, a third occurrence probability tablestorage unit, and a third quantization parameter storage unit enablesparallel processing by a larger number of coding units.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an image decoding apparatusaccording to a second exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, a selector 801 determines whether a processingtarget block belongs to an even-numbered block line. The selector 801outputs the above-described bit stream to a first decoding unit 802 ifthe processing target block belongs to an even-numbered block line, andotherwise outputs the above-described bit stream to a second decodingunit 803.

The decoding units 802 and 803 decode the input bit stream, block lineby block line as illustrated in FIG. 2. The present exemplary embodimentwill be described based on an example using two decoding units, but thepresent invention is not limited thereto. Referring to FIG. 2, theblocks in the white areas, which indicate even-numbered block linesincluding the top block line (the 0-th block line), are decoded by thefirst decoding unit 802. The blocks in the shaded areas, which indicateodd-numbered block lines, are decoded by the second decoding unit 803.

Each of the first and second decoding units 802 and 803 first selects anoccurrence probability table for binary signals of a bit stream to bedecoded, and arithmetically decodes the binary signals based on theoccurrence probability table to generate quantization coefficients.Next, each of the first and second decoding units 802 and 803 inverselyquantizes the quantization coefficients based on a quantizationparameter to generate transform coefficients. Then, each of the firstand second decoding units 802 and 803 performs inverse orthogonaltransform on the transform coefficients to generate prediction errors.Next, each of the first and second decoding units 802 and 803 performsthe prediction by referring to pixels surrounding the decoding targetblock or to another frame to generate image data of the decoding targetblock. A first occurrence probability table storage unit 804 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the first decoding unit 802. Afirst quantization parameter storage unit 805 stores the quantizationparameter determined by the first decoding unit 802.

A second occurrence probability table storage unit 806 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the second decoding unit 803.A second quantization parameter storage unit 807 stores the quantizationparameter determined by the second decoding unit 803. An image dataintegration unit 808 shapes the image data generated by the firstdecoding unit 802 and the image data generated by the second decodingunit 803, and outputs the shaped image data.

An operation of the image decoding apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 12. In the present exemplaryembodiment, a bit stream is input frame by frame. The bit stream isdivided into coded data pieces and then is decoded. The presentexemplary embodiment is configured in such a manner that a bit stream isinput frame by frame, but may be configured in such a manner that aframe is divided into slices, and a bit stream is input slice by slice.Further, for simplification of the description, the present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on intra prediction decodingprocessing only, but is not limited thereto. The present exemplaryembodiment can be also employed to inter prediction decoding processing.

First, in step S901, the image decoding apparatus determines whether aprocessing target block belongs to a top block line. If the processingtarget block belongs to the top block line (YES in step S901), theprocessing proceeds to step S902. If the processing target block doesnot belong to the top block line (NO in step S901), the processingproceeds to step S903.

The processing of step S902 is processing for decoding the top blockline, the details of which will be described below. The processing ofstep S903 is processing for decoding a block line other than the topblock line, the details of which will be also described below. Further,the selector 801 determines whether the block line to which theprocessing target block belongs is an even-numbered block line or anodd-numbered block line. If the block line is an even-numbered blockline, the processing target block is decoded by the first decoding unit802 independently. If the block line is not an even-numbered block line,the processing target block is decoded by the second decoding unit 803independently. In the present exemplary embodiment, the selector 801determines whether a block line is an even-numbered block line based onthe number of decoded blocks. However, the present invention is notlimited thereto. For example, an input bit stream may include anidentifier, which is provided at a boundary between block lines inadvance, and the selector 801 may determine whether a block line is aneven-numbered block line based on the identifier. Alternatively,information indicating a size of a bit stream of each block line or astarting position of a next block line may be provided, and the selector801 may determine whether a block line is an even-numbered block linebased on this information.

Next, in step S904, the image data integration unit 808 integrates imagedata output from the first decoding unit 802 and image data output fromthe second decoding unit 803, and generates and outputs a decoded image.

Next, in step S905, the image decoding apparatus determines whether allblock lines in the processing target frame are decoded. If all blocklines are decoded (YES in step S905), the processing for decoding oneframe is ended. If not all blocks are decoded (NO in step S905), theprocessing proceeds to step S901 again, from which the next block lineis decoded.

The processing of step S902 (the processing for decoding the top blockline) will be described in detail with reference to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 10. Since the top block line is an even-numberedblock line, coded data of the processing target block line is input intothe first decoding unit 802 by the selector 801, and is decoded by thefirst decoding unit 802.

Referring to FIG. 10, first, in step S1001, a quantization parameter,based on which a block is decoded, is initialized so as to match aninitial value of a quantization parameter for a slice. Hereinafter, thequantization parameter, based on which a block is decoded, will bereferred to as a “block reference quantization parameter” in a similarmanner to the image coding apparatus according to the first exemplaryembodiment. The block quantization parameter when a decoding targetblock is inversely quantized is in such a state that the value itself isnot coded but a difference value thereof from the block referencequantization parameter is coded as a syntax element. Therefore, at thetime of decoding, the block quantization parameter should be generatedby adding the block reference quantization parameter and theabove-described difference value, and the decoding apparatus shouldperform inverse quantization using the generated block quantizationparameter. In the present exemplary embodiment, this difference valuecorresponds to a cu_qp_delta value in the HEVC method. However, thepresent invention is not limited thereto. For example, the differencevalue may correspond to an mb_qp_delta value in the H.264 method. Next,in step S1002, an occurrence probability table is initialized by apredetermined method. The initialized occurrence probability table isused to arithmetically decode the first binary signal of the leftmostblock in the block line, and is updated as necessary in step S1003,which will be described below. Hereinafter, the occurrence probabilitytable used to arithmetically decode a first binary signal of an initialblock in a block line will be referred to as a “block line referenceoccurrence probability table”, in a similar manner to the image codingapparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

Next, in step S1003, the first decoding unit 802 decodes the bit streamblock by block to generate image data.

In the present exemplary embodiment, one block is constituted by 64×64pixels, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The size of ablock may be a smaller size such as 32×32 pixels, or a larger size such128×128 pixels. The block decoding processing in step S1003 will bedescribed in detail with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG.12.

First, in step S1201, the first decoding unit 802 arithmetically decodesthe bit stream based on the above-described occurrence probability tableto generate a binary signal. Further, the first decoding unit 802decodes the binary signal binarized according any of various kinds ofbinarization methods, such as unary binarization and fixed-lengthbinarization, for each syntax element in a similar manner to the H.264method to generates syntax elements including quantization coefficients.

Next, in step S1202, the occurrence probability table is updated basedon whether the arithmetically decoded binary signal is the most probablesymbol.

Next, in step S1203, the first decoding unit 802 determines whether allsyntax elements in the block are arithmetically decoded. If all syntaxelements are arithmetically decoded (YES in step S1203), the processingproceeds to step S1204. If not all syntax elements are arithmeticallydecoded (NO in step S1203), the processing proceeds to step S1201 again.

Next, in step S1204, the first decoding unit 802 generates a blockquantization parameter by adding the above-described block referencequantization parameter and the cu_qp_delta value decoded in step S1201.

Next, in step S1205, the first decoding unit 802 inversely quantizes thequantization coefficients based on the block quantization parameter togenerate transform coefficients. Then, the first decoding unit 802performs inverse orthogonal transform on the transform coefficients togenerate prediction errors.

Next, in step S1206, the first decoding unit 802 sets the blockquantization parameter used when inversely quantizing the processingtarget block to the block reference quantization parameter, therebyupdating the block reference quantization parameter. The block referencequantization parameter will be used to generate a block quantizationparameter of a next block.

Next, in step S1207, the first decoding unit 802 performs intraprediction from pixels surrounding the processing target block togenerate a prediction image. Further, the first decoding unit 802generates image data corresponding to one block by adding the predictionerrors and the prediction image.

Referring back to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10, in step S1004,the first decoding unit 802 determines whether a condition for storingthe block reference quantization parameter is satisfied. In the presentexemplary embodiment, the condition for storing the block referencequantization parameter is whether the block decoded in step S1003 is theleftmost block in the block line. If the condition is satisfied (YES instep S1004), the processing proceeds to step S1005. In step S1005, theblock reference quantization parameter is stored in the firstquantization parameter storage unit 805 as a first quantizationparameter. If the condition is not satisfied (NO in step S1004), theprocessing proceeds to step S1006. The first quantization parameter willbe used as a block reference quantization parameter when the seconddecoding unit 803 decodes the leftmost block in the next block line.

Next, in step S1006, the first decoding unit 802 determines whether acondition for storing the occurrence probability table is satisfied. Inthe present exemplary embodiment, the condition for storing theoccurrence probability table is whether the block decoded in step S1003is the predetermined number-th block from the leftmost block in theblock line. If this condition is satisfied (YES in step S1006), theprocessing proceeds to step S1007. In step S1007, the occurrenceprobability table is stored in the first occurrence probability tablestorage unit 804 as a first occurrence probability table. If thecondition is not satisfied (NO in step S1006), the processing proceedsto step S1008. The first occurrence probability table will be used as ablock line reference occurrence probability table when the seconddecoding unit 803 decodes the leftmost block in the next block line.

Next, in step S1008, the first decoding unit 802 determines whether allblocks in the processing target block line are decoded. If all blocksare decoded (YES in step S1008), decoding the top block line is ended.If not all blocks are decoded (NO in step S1008), the processingproceeds to step S1003 again, from which the first decoding unit 802decodes the next block in raster order.

The processing of step S903 (the processing for decoding a block lineother than the top block line) will be described in detail withreference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 11. The selector 801determines for each block line whether the block line is aneven-numbered block line. If the block line is an even-numbered blockline, the bit stream of the processing target block is input into thefirst decoding unit 802, and is decoded by the first decoding unit 802.If the block line is an odd-numbered block line, the bit stream of theprocessing target block is input into the second decoding unit 803, andis decoded by the second decoding unit 803. First, a flow when thesecond decoding unit 803 decodes an odd-numbered block line will bedescribed.

First, in step S1101, the first quantization parameter is input from thefirst quantization parameter storage unit 805 as a block referencequantization parameter. Next, in step S1102, the first occurrenceprobability table is input from the first occurrence probability tablestorage unit 804 as a block line reference occurrence probability table.

The processing of steps S1103, S1104, S1106, and S1108 is similar to theprocessing of steps S1003, S1004, S1006, and S1008, and, therefore, thedescription thereof is omitted here.

In step S1105, the block reference quantization parameter is stored inthe second quantization parameter storage unit 807 as a secondquantization parameter. The second quantization parameter will be usedas a block reference quantization parameter for the leftmost block inthe next block line.

In step S1107, the occurrence probability table is stored in the secondoccurrence probability table storage unit 806 as a second occurrenceprobability table. The second occurrence probability table will be usedas a block line reference occurrence probability table when the firstdecoding unit 802 arithmetically decodes the leftmost block in the nextblock line.

Subsequently, a flow when the first decoding unit 802 decodes aneven-numbered block line will be described.

First, instep S1101, the second quantization parameter is input from thesecond quantization parameter storage unit 807 as a block referencequantization parameter. Next, in step S1102, the second occurrenceprobability table is input from the second occurrence probability tablestorage unit 806 as a block line reference occurrence probability table.

The processing of steps S1103 to S1108 is similar to the processing ofsteps S1003 to S1008, and, therefore, the description thereof is omittedhere.

The above-described configuration and operation enable parallelexecution of decoding by allowing reference to a block referencequantization parameter in addition to an occurrence probability table,which is statistical information, during processing of a leftmost blockeven before completion of processing of a block line immediately beforethe block line that is currently being decoded. FIGS. 7A and 7B eachillustrate how a block reference quantization parameter is referred to.According to the conventional technique, as illustrated in FIG. 7A,until processing of a preceding block line is completed, processing of anext block line cannot start. However, according to the presentexemplary embodiment, a spatially upper block can be referred to when aleftmost block is processed, which allows a reference pattern asillustrated in FIG. 7B, thereby eliminating the necessity of waiting forcompletion of processing of a preceding block line.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, a quantization parameterused at a leftmost block in an immediately upper block line is used as ablock reference quantization parameter when a leftmost block is decoded.However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may beembodied by any configuration capable of improving parallelism ofprocessing block line by block line. For example, an initial value of aquantization parameter provided to a slice may be used as a blockreference quantization parameter when leftmost blocks in all block linesare decoded. As another possible configuration, the condition forstoring a block reference quantization parameter may be the same as thecondition for storing the occurrence probability table provided in stepsS1006 and S1106. More specifically, a quantization parameter when apredetermined number-th block from a leftmost block in a block line isdecoded may be used as a block reference quantization parameter for theleftmost block in the next block line. Further, the image decodingapparatus may be configured to switch a block referred to as a blockreference quantization parameter based on a coding mode of a leftmostblock.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, arithmetic decoding isused for entropy decoding, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. Any decoding may be employed, as long as, at the time ofentropy decoding based on statistical information such as the occurrenceprobability table, the statistical information in the middle of decodingof a block line is used to perform entropy decoding of the leftmostblock of the next block line.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described based on an exampleusing two decoding units. However, it is apparent that the addition of,for example, a third decoding unit, a third occurrence probability tablestorage unit, and a third quantization parameter storage unit enablesparallel processing by a larger number of decoding units.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an image coding apparatusaccording to a third exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 14, a selector 1401 determines whether a processingtarget block belongs to an even-numbered block line. The selector 1401outputs the block to a first coding unit 1402 if the block belongs to aneven-numbered block line, and otherwise outputs the block to a secondcoding unit 1403.

The first and second coding units 1402 and 1403 code blocks, into whichan input image is divided by n×n pixels (“n” is a positive integer of 2or larger), line by line as illustrated in FIG. 2 The present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on an example using two coding units,but the present invention is not limited thereto. Referring to FIG. 2,the section 201 indicated as the square drawn by the thin linerepresents a block, and the section 202 indicated as the rectangle drawnby the thick line represents a block line. Further, the blocks in thewhite areas, which indicate even-numbered block lines including the topblock line (the 0-th block line), are coded by the first coding unit1402. The blocks in the shaded areas, which indicate odd-numbered blocklines, are coded by the second coding unit 1403.

Each of the first and second coding units 1402 and 1403 first generatesprediction errors according to the prediction by referring to pixelssurrounding a coding target block or another frame, and performsorthogonal transform to generate transform coefficients. Next, each ofthe first and second coding units 1402 and 1403 determines aquantization parameter for the orthogonally transformed transformcoefficients, and quantizes each transform coefficient to generatequantization coefficients. Next, each of the first and second codingunits 1402 and 1403 binarizes each syntax element including thequantization coefficients to generate binary signals. An occurrenceprobability is assigned to each syntax element in advance as a table(hereinafter referred to as an “occurrence probability table”). Thebinary signals are arithmetically coded based on the above-describedoccurrence probability table. Then, each time a binary signal is coded,the occurrence probability table is updated using statisticalinformation indicating whether the coded binary signal is the mostprobable symbol.

An initial quantization parameter storage unit 1404 stores an initialvalue of a quantization parameter.

A first occurrence probability table storage unit 1405 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the first coding unit 1402.Hereinafter, the occurrence probability table stored in the firstoccurrence probability table storage unit 1405 will be referred to as a“first occurrence probability table”.

A second occurrence probability table storage unit 1406 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the second coding unit 1403.Hereinafter, the occurrence probability table stored in the secondoccurrence probability table storage unit 1406 will be referred to as a“second occurrence probability table”.

An integration coding unit 1407 integrates coded data generated by thefirst coding unit 1402 and coded data generated by the second codingunit 1403, and outputs the integrated data as a bit stream.

An operation of the image coding apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 3, 15, and 16. In the present exemplaryembodiment, moving image data is input frame by frame, is divided intoblocks, and is processed in raster order. The present exemplaryembodiment is configured to input moving image data frame by frame, butmay be configured to input still image data corresponding to one frameor to input image data slice by slice, which a frame is divided into.Further, for simplification of description, the present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on only intra prediction codingprocessing, but is not limited thereto. The present exemplary embodimentcan be also employed to inter prediction coding processing.

First, the processing of steps S301, S304, and S305 illustrated in FIG.3 is the same as the first exemplary embodiment, and, therefore, thedescription thereof is omitted here.

Then, the processing of step S302 (the processing for coding the topblock line) will be described in detail with reference to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 15. Since the top block line is an even-numberedblock line, a processing target block is input into the first codingunit 1402 by the selector 1401, and is coded by the first coding unit1402.

First, in step S1501, a quantization parameter, based on which a blockis coded, is initialized so as to match an initial value of aquantization parameter for a slice, and is stored in the initialquantization parameter storage unit 1404. Hereinafter, the quantizationparameter, based on which a block is coded, will be referred to as a“block reference quantization parameter” in a similar manner to thefirst exemplary embodiment. Regarding a quantization parameter used toquantize a coding target block, the value thereof itself is not coded asa syntax element, but a difference value thereof from the blockreference quantization parameter is coded.

Next, in step S1502, the first coding unit 1402 reads the initializedquantization parameter from the initial quantization parameter storageunit 1404 as a block reference quantization parameter for coding aleftmost block in a block line. Next, the processing of steps S1503 toS1507 is similar to the processing of steps S402, S403, and S406 to S408illustrated in FIG. 4, respectively, and, therefore, the descriptionthereof is omitted here.

However, in step S1504, the first coding unit 1402 codes pixel datablock by block.

Next, the processing of step S303 (the processing for coding a blockline other than the top block line) will be described in detail withreference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 16. The selector 1401determines for each block line whether the block line is aneven-numbered block line. If the block line is an even-numbered blockline, an image of the processing target block line is input into thefirst coding unit 1402 and is coded by the first coding unit 1402. Ifthe block line is an odd-numbered block line, an image of the processingtarget block line is input into the second coding unit 1403, and iscoded by the second coding unit 1403. First, a flow when the secondcoding unit 1403 codes an odd-numbered block line will be described.

First, in step S1601, a block reference quantization parameter forcoding a leftmost block in a block line is input from the initialquantization parameter storage unit 1404. Next, in step S1602, the firstoccurrence probability table is input from the first occurrenceprobability table storage unit 1405 as a block line reference occurrenceprobability table.

In step S1603, the second coding unit 1403 codes pixel data block byblock. The processing of step S1604 is similar to the processing of stepS1505 illustrated in FIG. 15.

In step S1605, the occurrence probability table is stored in the secondoccurrence probability table storage unit 1406 as a second occurrenceprobability table. The second occurrence probability table will be usedas a block line reference occurrence probability table when the firstcoding unit 1402 arithmetically codes the leftmost block in the nextblock line.

The processing of step S1606 is similar to the processing of step S1507illustrated in FIG. 15.

Subsequently, a flow when the first coding unit 1402 codes aneven-numbered block line will be described.

First, in step S1601, a block reference quantization parameter forcoding the leftmost block in the block line is input from the initialquantization parameter storage unit 1404. Next, in step S1602, thesecond occurrence probability table is input from the second occurrenceprobability table storage unit 1406 as a block line reference occurrenceprobability table.

The processing of steps S1603 to S1606 are similar to the processing ofsteps S1504 to S1507, and, therefore, the description thereof is omittedhere.

The above-described configuration and operation enable parallelexecution of coding by allowing reference to a block referencequantization parameter in addition to an occurrence probability table,which is statistical information, during processing of a leftmost blockeven before completion of processing of a block line immediately beforethe block line that is currently being coded. FIGS. 17A and 17B eachillustrate how a block reference quantization parameter is referred to.In FIGS. 17A and 17B, “SLICE QP” indicates an initial value of aquantization parameter provided to a slice. According to theconventional technique, as illustrated in FIG. 17A, until processing ofa preceding block line is completed, processing of the next block linecannot start. However, according to the present exemplary embodiment, aninitial value of a quantization parameter provided to a slice can bereferred as a block reference quantization parameter for coding theleftmost block in the block line, thereby eliminating the necessity ofwaiting for completion of processing of the preceding block line asillustrated in FIG. 17B.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, arithmetic coding is usedfor entropy coding, but the present invention is not limited thereto.Any coding may be employed, as long as, at the time of entropy codingbased on statistical information such as the occurrence probabilitytable, the statistical information in the middle of coding of a blockline is used to perform entropy coding of the leftmost block of the nextblock line.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described based on an exampleusing two coding units. However, it is apparent that the addition of,for example, a third coding unit and a third occurrence probabilitytable storage unit enables parallel processing by a larger number ofcoding units.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an image decoding apparatusaccording to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 18, a selector 1801 determines whether a processingtarget block belongs to an even-numbered block line. The selector 1801outputs the above-described bit stream to a first decoding unit 1802 ifthe processing target block belongs to an even-numbered block line, andotherwise outputs the above-described bit stream to a second decodingunit 1803.

The decoding units 1802 and 1803 decode the input bit stream, block lineby block line as illustrated in FIG. 2. The present exemplary embodimentwill be described based on an example using two decoding units, but thepresent invention is not limited thereto. Referring to FIG. 2, theblocks in the white areas, which indicate even-numbered block linesincluding the top block line (the 0-th block line), are decoded by thefirst decoding unit 1802. The blocks in the shaded areas, which indicateodd-numbered block lines, are decoded by the second decoding unit 1803.

Each of the first and second decoding units 1802 and 1803 first selectsan occurrence probability table for binary signals of a bit stream thatis a decoding target, and arithmetically decodes the binary signalsbased on the occurrence probability table to generate quantizationcoefficients. Next, each of the first and second decoding units 1802 and1803 inversely quantizes the quantization coefficients based on aquantization parameter to generate transform coefficients. Then, each ofthe first and second decoding units 1802 and 1803 performs inverseorthogonal transform on the transform coefficients to generateprediction errors. Next, each of the first and second decoding units1802 and 1803 performs motion compensation by referring to pixelssurrounding the decoding target block or another frame to generate imagedata of the decoding target block. An initial quantization parameterstorage unit 1804 stores an initial value of a quantization parameter. Afirst occurrence probability table storage unit 1805 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the first decoding unit 1802.

A second occurrence probability table storage unit 1806 stores theoccurrence probability table generated by the second decoding unit 1803.An image data integration unit 1807 shapes image data generated by thefirst decoding unit 1802 and image data generated by the second decodingunit 1803, and outputs the shaped image data

An operation of the image decoding apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 9, 19, and 20. In the present exemplaryembodiment, a bit stream is input frame by frame. The bit stream isdivided into coded data pieces, each of which corresponds to one block,and then is decoded. The present exemplary embodiment is configured insuch a manner that a bit stream is input frame by frame, but maybeconfigured in such a manner that a frame is divided into slices, and abit stream is input slice by slice. Further, for simplification ofdescription, the present exemplary embodiment will be described based ononly intra prediction decoding processing, but is not limited thereto.The present exemplary embodiment can be also employed to interprediction decoding processing.

First, the processing of steps S901, S904, and S905 illustrated in FIG.9 is the same as the second exemplary embodiment, and, therefore, thedescription thereof is omitted here.

The processing of step S902 (the processing for decoding the top blockline) will be described in detail with reference to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 19. Since the top block line is an even-numberedblock line, coded data of a processing target block line is input intothe first decoding unit 1802 by the selector 1801, and is decoded by thefirst decoding unit 1802.

First, in step S1901, a quantization parameter, based on which a blockis decoded, is initialized so as to match an initial value of aquantization parameter for a slice, and is stored in the initialquantization parameter storage unit 1804. Hereinafter, the quantizationparameter, based on which a block is decoded, will be referred to as a“block reference quantization parameter” in a similar manner to theimage decoding apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment.The block quantization parameter when a decoding target block isinversely quantized is in such a state that the value itself is notcoded but a difference value thereof from the block referencequantization parameter is coded as a syntax element. Therefore, at thetime of decoding, the block quantization parameter should be generatedby adding the block reference quantization parameter and theabove-described difference value, and the decoding apparatus shouldperform inverse quantization using the generated block quantizationparameter.

Next, in step S1902, the first decoding unit 1802 reads the value fromthe initial quantization parameter storage unit 1804 as a blockreference quantization parameter for decoding the leftmost block in theblock line. Next, the processing of steps S1903 to S1907 is similar tothe processing of steps S1002, S1003, S1006 to S1008, respectively, and,therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

Subsequently, the processing of step S903 (the processing for decoding ablock line other than the top block line) will be described in detailwith reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 20. The selector1801 determines for each block line whether the block line is aneven-numbered block line. If the block line is an even-numbered blockline, a bit stream of a processing target block is input into the firstdecoding unit 1802, and is decoded by the first decoding unit 1802. Ifthe block line is an odd-numbered block line, a bit stream of aprocessing target block is input into the second decoding unit 1803, andis decoded by the second decoding unit 1803. First, a flow when thesecond decoding unit 1803 decodes an odd-numbered block line will bedescribed.

First, in step S2001, a block reference quantization parameter fordecoding the leftmost block in the block line is input from the initialquantization parameter storage unit 1804. Next, in step S2002, the firstoccurrence probability table is input from the first occurrenceprobability table storage unit 1805 as a block line reference occurrenceprobability table.

In step S2003, the second decoding unit 1403 decodes pixel data block byblock. The processing of step S2004 is similar to the processing of stepS1905, and, therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

In step S2005, the occurrence probability table is stored in the secondoccurrence probability table storage unit 1806 as a second occurrenceprobability table. The second occurrence probability table will be usedas a block line reference occurrence probability table when the firstdecoding unit 1402 arithmetically decodes the leftmost block in the nextblock line.

The processing of step S2006 is similar to the processing of step S1907,and, therefore, the description thereof is omitted here. Subsequently, aflow when the first decoding unit 1802 decodes an even-numbered blockline will be described.

First, in step S2001, a block reference quantization parameter fordecoding the leftmost block in the block line is input from the initialquantization parameter storage unit 1804. Next, in step S2002, thesecond occurrence probability table is input from the second occurrenceprobability table storage unit 1806 as a block line reference occurrenceprobability table.

The processing of steps S2003 to S2006 is similar to the processing ofsteps S1904 to S1907, and, therefore, the description thereof is omittedhere.

The above-described configuration and operation enable parallelexecution of decoding by allowing reference to a block referencequantization parameter in addition to an occurrence probability table,which is statistical information, during processing of a leftmost blockeven before completion of processing of a block line immediately beforethe block line that is currently being decoded.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, arithmetic decoding isused for entropy decoding, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. Any decoding may be employed, as long as, at the time ofentropy decoding based on statistical information such as the occurrenceprobability table, the statistical information in the middle of decodingof a block line is used to perform entropy decoding of the leftmostblock of the next block line.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described based on an exampleusing two decoding units. However, it is apparent that the addition of,for example, a third decoding unit and a third occurrence probabilitytable storage unit enables parallel processing by a larger number ofdecoding units.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an image coding apparatusaccording to a fifth exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 21, a selector 2101 determines whether a processingtarget block belongs to an even-numbered block line. The selector 2101outputs the block to a first coding unit 2102 if the block belongs to aneven-numbered block line, and otherwise outputs the block to a secondcoding unit 2103.

The first and second coding units 2102 and 2103 code blocks, into whichan input image is divided by n×n pixels (“n” is a positive integer of 2or larger), line by line as illustrated in FIG. 2 The present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on an example using two coding units,but the present invention is not limited thereto. Referring to FIG. 2,the section 201 indicated as the square drawn by the thin linerepresents a block, and the section 202 indicated as the rectangle drawnby the thick line represents a block line. Further, the blocks in thewhite areas, which indicate even-numbered block lines including the topblock line (the 0-th block line), are coded by the first coding unit2102. The blocks in the shaded areas, which indicate odd-numbered blocklines, are coded by the second coding unit 2103.

Each of the first and second coding units 2102 and 2103 first generatesprediction errors according to prediction by referring to pixelssurrounding a coding target block or another frame, and performsorthogonal transform to generate transform coefficients. Next, each ofthe first and second coding units 2102 and 2103 determines aquantization parameter for the orthogonally transformed transformcoefficients, and quantizes each transform coefficient to generatequantization coefficients. Next, each of the first and second codingunits 2102 and 2103 binarizes each syntax element including thequantization coefficients to generate binary signals. An occurrenceprobability is assigned to each syntax element in advance as a table(hereinafter referred to as an “occurrence probability table”). Thebinary signals are arithmetically coded based on the above-describedoccurrence probability table. Then, each time a binary signal is coded,the occurrence probability table is updated using statisticalinformation indicating whether the coded binary signal is the mostprobable symbol.

An initial quantization parameter storage unit 2104 stores an initialvalue of a quantization parameter. An initial occurrence probabilitytable storage unit 2105 stores an initial value of an occurrenceprobability table. An integration coding unit 2106 integrates coded datagenerated by the first coding unit 2102 and coded data generated by thesecond coding unit 2103, and outputs the integrated data as a bitstream.

An operation of the image coding apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 3, 22, and 23. In the present exemplaryembodiment, moving image data is input frame by frame, is divided intoblocks, and is processed in raster order. The present exemplaryembodiment is configured to input moving image data frame by frame, butmay be configured to input still image data corresponding to one frameor to input image data slice by slice, which a frame is divided into.Further, for simplification of description, the present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on only intra prediction codingprocessing, but is not limited thereto. The present exemplary embodimentcan be also employed to inter prediction coding processing.

The processing of steps S301, S304, and S305 illustrated in FIG. 3 isthe same as the first exemplary embodiment, and, therefore, thedescription thereof is omitted here.

The processing of step S302 (the processing for coding the top blockline) will be described in detail with reference to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 22. Since the top block line is an even-numberedblock line, a processing target block is input into the first codingunit 2102 by the selector 2101, and is coded by the first coding unit2102.

First, in step S2201, a quantization parameter, based on which a blockis coded, is initialized so as to match an initial value of aquantization parameter for a slice, and is stored in the initialquantization parameter storage unit 2104. Hereinafter, the quantizationparameter, based on which a block is coded, will be referred to as a“block reference quantization parameter” in a similar manner to thefirst exemplary embodiment. Regarding a quantization parameter used toquantize a coding target block, the value thereof itself is not coded asa syntax element, but a difference value thereof from the blockreference quantization parameter is coded.

Next, in step S2202, the first coding unit 2102 reads the initializedquantization parameter from the initial quantization parameter storageunit 2104 as a block reference quantization parameter for coding aleftmost block in a block line. Next, in step S2203, an occurrenceprobability table is initialized by a predetermined method, and isstored in the initial occurrence probability table storage unit 2105.The occurrence probability table stored in the initial occurrenceprobability table storage unit 2105 is used to arithmetically code thefirst binary signal of the leftmost block in the block line, and isupdated as necessary in step S2205, which will be described below.Hereinafter, the occurrence probability table used to arithmeticallycode a binary signal of a first block in a block line will be referredto as a “block line reference occurrence probability table” in a similarmanner to the first exemplary embodiment.

Next, in step S2204, the first coding unit 2102 reads the initializedquantization parameter from the initial occurrence probability tablestorage unit 2105 as a block line reference occurrence probabilitytable.

Next, the processing of steps S2205 and S2206 is similar to theprocessing of steps S403 and S408 illustrated in FIG. 4, respectively,and, therefore, the description thereof is omitted here. However, instep S2205, the first coding unit 2012 codes pixel data block by block.Subsequently, the processing of step S303 (the processing for coding ablock line other than the top block line) will be described in detailwith reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 23. The selector2101 determines for each block line whether the block line is aneven-numbered block line. If the block line is an even-numbered blockline, an image of the processing target block line is input into thefirst coding unit 2102 and is coded by the first coding unit 2102. Ifthe block line is an odd-numbered block line, an image of the processingtarget block line is input into the second coding unit 2103, and iscoded by the second coding unit 2103. First, a flow when the secondcoding unit 2103 codes an odd-numbered block line will be described.

First, in step S2301, a block reference quantization parameter forcoding the leftmost block in the block line is input from the initialquantization parameter storage unit 2104.

Next, in step S2302, the value is input from the initial occurrenceprobability table storage unit 2105 as a block line reference occurrenceprobability table.

Next, in step S2303, the second coding unit 2103 codes pixel data blockby block. The processing of step S2304 is similar to the processing ofstep S2206 illustrated in FIG. 22. Subsequently, a flow when the firstcoding unit 2102 codes an even-numbered block line will be described.First, in step S2301, a block reference quantization parameter forcoding the leftmost block in the block line is input from the initialquantization parameter storage unit 2104. Next, in step S2302, the valueis input from the initial occurrence probability table storage unit 2105as a block line reference occurrence probability table.

The processing of steps S2303 and S2304 is similar to the processing ofsteps S2205 and S2206, and, therefore, the description thereof isomitted here.

The above-described configuration and operation enable parallelexecution of coding by using an occurrence probability table, which isstatistical information, and an initialized value as a block referencequantization parameter during processing of a leftmost block even beforecompletion of processing of a block line immediately before the blockline that is currently being coded. Further, in the present exemplaryembodiment, arithmetic coding is used for entropy coding, but thepresent invention is not limited thereto. Any coding method may beemployed, as long as statistical information is initialized at thebeginning of coding processing, coding processing is performed with useof the statistical information, and the statistical information isupdated each time coding processing is performed.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described based on an exampleusing two coding units. However, it is apparent that the addition of,for example, a third coding unit enables parallel processing by a largernumber of coding units.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating an image decoding apparatusaccording to a sixth exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 24, a selector 2401 determines whether a processingtarget block belongs to an even-numbered block line. The selector 2401outputs the block to a first decoding unit 2402 if the block belongs toan even-numbered block line, and otherwise outputs the block to a seconddecoding unit 2403.

The first and second decoding units 2402 and 2403 decode the input bitstream, line by line as illustrated in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, a line ofblocks will be referred to as a “block line”. The present exemplaryembodiment will be described based on an example using two decodingunits, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Referring toFIG. 2, the section 201 indicated as the square drawn by the thin linerepresents a block, and the section 202 indicated as the rectangle drawnby the thick line represents a block line. Further, the blocks in thewhite areas, which indicate even-numbered block lines including the topblock line (the 0-th block line), are decoded by the first decoding unit2402. The blocks in the shaded areas, which indicate odd-numbered blocklines, are decoded by the second decoding unit 2403.

Each of the first and second decoding units 2402 and 2403 first selectsan occurrence probability table for a binary signal of a bit stream thatis a decoding target, and arithmetically decodes the binary signal basedon the occurrence probability table to generate quantizationcoefficients. Next, each of the first and second decoding units 2402 and2403 inversely quantizes the quantization coefficients based on aquantization parameter to generate transform coefficients. Then, each ofthe first and second decoding units 2402 and 2403 performs inverseorthogonal transform on the transform coefficients to generateprediction errors. Next, each of the first and second decoding units2402 and 2403 performs prediction by referring to pixels surrounding thedecoding target block or another frame to generate image data of thedecoding target block.

An initial quantization parameter storage unit 2404 stores an initialvalue of a quantization parameter. An initial occurrence probabilitytable storage unit 2405 stores an initial value of an occurrenceprobability table. An image data integration unit 2406 shapes image datagenerated by the first decoding unit 2402 and image data generated bythe second decoding unit 2403, and outputs the shaped data.

An operation of the image decoding apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 9, 25, and 26. In the present exemplaryembodiment, a bit stream is input frame by frame. The bit stream isdivided into coded data pieces, each of which corresponds to one block,and then is decoded. The present exemplary embodiment is configured insuch a manner that a bit stream is input frame by frame, but may beconfigured in such a manner that a frame is divided into slices, and abit stream is input slice by slice. Further, for simplification ofdescription, the present exemplary embodiment will be described based ononly intra prediction decoding processing, but is not limited thereto.The present exemplary embodiment can be also employed to interprediction decoding processing.

The processing of steps S901, S904, and S905 illustrated in FIG. 9 arethe same as the second exemplary embodiment, and, therefore, thedescription thereof is omitted here.

The processing of step S902 (the processing for decoding the top blockline) will be described in detail with reference to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 25. Since the top block line is an even-numberedblock line, coded data of a processing target block line is input intothe first decoding unit 2402 by the selector 2401, and is decoded by thefirst decoding unit 2402.

First, in step S2501, a quantization parameter, based on which a blockis decoded, is initialized so as to match an initial value of aquantization parameter for a slice, and is stored in the initialquantization parameter storage unit 2404. Hereinafter, the quantizationparameter, based on which a block is decoded, will be referred to as a“block reference quantization parameter” in a similar manner to thesecond exemplary embodiment. The block quantization parameter when adecoding target block is inversely quantized is in such a state that thevalue itself is not coded but a difference value thereof from the blockreference quantization parameter is coded as a syntax element.Therefore, at the time of decoding, the block quantization parametershould be generated by adding the block reference quantization parameterand the above-described difference value, and the decoding apparatusshould perform inverse quantization.

Next, in step S2502, the first decoding unit 2402 reads the value fromthe initial quantization parameter storage unit 2404 as a blockreference quantization parameter for coding the leftmost block in theblock line. Next, in step S2503, the occurrence probability table isinitialized by a predetermined method, and is stored in the initialoccurrence probability table storage unit 2405. The occurrenceprobability table stored in the initial occurrence probability tablestorage unit 2405 is used to arithmetically decode the first binarysignal of the leftmost block in the block line, and is updated asnecessary in step S2505, which will be described below. Hereinafter, theoccurrence probability table used to arithmetically decode a firstbinary signal of an initial block in a block line will be referred to asa “block line reference occurrence probability table”, in a similarmanner to the second exemplary embodiment.

Next, in step S2504, the first decoding unit 2402 reads the value fromthe initial occurrence probability table storage unit 2405 as a blockline reference occurrence probability table.

Next, the processing of steps S2505 and S2506 is similar to theprocessing of steps S1003 and S1008 illustrated in FIG. 10,respectively, and, therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

However, in step S2505, the first decoding unit 2402 decodes pixel datablock by block.

Subsequently, the processing of step S903 (the processing for decoding ablock line other than the top block line) will be described in detailwith reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 26. The selector2401 determines for each block line whether the block line is aneven-numbered block line. If the block line is an even-numbered blockline, a bit stream of the processing target block is input into thefirst decoding unit 2402, and is decoded by the first decoding unit2402. If the block line is an odd-numbered block line, a bit stream ofthe processing target block is input into the second decoding unit 2403,and is decoded by the second decoding unit 2403. First, a flow when thesecond decoding unit 2403 decodes an odd-numbered block line will bedescribed.

First, in step S2601, a block reference quantization parameter fordecoding the leftmost block in the block line is input from the initialquantization parameter storage unit 2404.

Next, in step S2602, the value is input from the initial occurrenceprobability table storage unit 2405 as a block line reference occurrenceprobability table.

Next, in step S2603, the second decoding unit 2403 decodes pixel datablock by block. The processing of step S2604 is similar to theprocessing of step S2506 illustrated in FIG. 25. Subsequently, a flowwhen the first decoding unit 2402 decodes an even-numbered block linewill be described. First, in step S2601, a block reference quantizationparameter for decoding the leftmost block in the block line is inputfrom the initial quantization parameter storage unit 2404. Next, in stepS2602, the value is input from the initial occurrence probability tablestorage unit 2405 as a block line reference occurrence probabilitytable.

The processing of steps S2603 and S2604 is similar to the processing ofsteps S2505 and S2506, and, therefore, the description thereof isomitted here.

The above-described configuration and operation enable parallelexecution of decoding by using an occurrence probability table, which isstatistical information, and an initialized value as a block referencequantization parameter during processing of a leftmost block even beforecompletion of processing of a block line immediately before a block linethat is currently being decoded.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, arithmetic decoding isused for entropy decoding, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. Any decoding method may be employed, as long as statisticalinformation is initialized at the beginning of decoding processing,decoding processing is performed with use of the statisticalinformation, and the statistical information is updated each timedecoding processing is performed.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described based on an exampleusing two decoding units. However, it is apparent that the addition of,for example, a third decoding unit enables parallel processing by alarger number of decoding units.

The above-described exemplary embodiments have been described assumingthat the respective processing units illustrated in FIGS. 1, 8, 14, 18,21, and 24 are realized by hardware apparatuses. However, the processingperformed by the respective processing units illustrated in FIGS. 1, 8,14, 18, 21, and 24 may be realized by a computer program.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a computer employable as the image processingapparatuses according to the above-described respective exemplaryembodiments.

A central processing unit (CPU) 1301 controls the entire computer withuse of a computer program and data stored in a random access memory(RAM) 1302 and a read only memory (ROM) 1303, and performs therespective kinds of processing that have been described to be performedby the image processing apparatuses according to the above-describedrespective exemplary embodiments. In other words, the CPU 1301 functionsas the respective processing units illustrated in FIGS. 1, 8, 14, 18, 21and 24.

The RAM 1302 has an area for temporarily storing, for example, acomputer program and data loaded from an external storage device 1306,and data acquired from the outside via an interface (I/F) 1307. Further,the RAM 1302 has a work area used when the CPU 1301 performs variouskinds of processing. In other words, for example, the RAM 1302 can beassigned as a frame memory or can provide other various kinds of areasas necessary.

The ROM 1303 stores, for example, setting data of the present computerand a boot program. An operation unit 1304 includes a keyboard and amouse. A user of the present computer can input various kinds ofinstructions to the CPU 1301 by operating the operation unit 1304. Adisplay unit 1305 displays a result of processing performed by the CPU1301. Further, the display unit 1305 includes a display device such as aliquid crystal display.

The external storage device 1306 is a large-capacity information storagedevice represented by a hard disk drive device. The external storagedevice 1306 stores an operating system (OS), and the computer programfor enabling the CPU 1301 to realize the functions of the respectiveunits illustrated in FIGS. 1, 8, 14, 18, 21 and 24. Further, theexternal storage device 1306 may store image data as a processingtarget.

The computer program and data stored in the external storage device 1306are loaded to the RAM 1302 as necessary according to the control by theCPU 1301, and are processed by the CPU 1301. A network such as a localarea network (LAN) and the Internet, and another device such as aprojection device and a display device can be connected to the I/F 1307.The computer can acquire and transmit various kinds of information viathe I/F 1307. A bus 1308 connects the above-described respective unitsto one another.

As the operation by the above-described configuration, the CPU 1301plays a central role in controlling the operations explained withreference to the above-described flowcharts.

The present invention can be also embodied by supplying a storage mediumstoring codes of the computer program capable of realizing theabove-described functions to a system, and causing the system to readout and execute the codes of the computer program. In this case, thecodes of the computer program read from the storage medium realize thefunctions of the above-described exemplary embodiments, and the storagemedium storing the codes of the computer program is within the scope ofthe present invention. Alternatively, an operating system (OS) or thelike that works on a computer may perform a part or all of actualprocessing based on instructions of the codes of the computer program,thereby realizing the above-described functions by this processing. Thiscase is also within the scope of the present invention.

Further alternatively, the present invention may be embodied by thefollowing embodiment; the codes of the computer program read from thestorage medium may be written in a function expansion card inserted in acomputer or a memory provided to a function expansion unit connected toa computer, and a CPU or the like provided to the function expansioncard or the function expansion unit may perform a part or all of actualprocessing based on instructions of the codes of the computer program,thereby realizing the above-described functions. This case is alsowithin the scope of the present invention.

In a case where the present invention is embodied by the above-describedstorage medium, the storage medium stores the codes of the computerprogram corresponding to the above-described flowcharts.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications, equivalent structures, and functions.

1. An image coding apparatus which generates a bitstream which is to bedecoded by an image decoding apparatus, the image coding apparatuscomprising: an acquisition unit configured to acquire image data; and acoding unit configured to code the image data into the bitstream usingquantization parameters, wherein the coding unit is configured: to codea difference value between a slice quantization parameter and a firstquantization parameter of a first line in a slice, wherein thedifference value is for the first quantization parameter of the firstline, wherein the difference value is coded into the bitstream, andwherein the slice quantization parameter is provided to the slice; andto code a difference value between an (n−1)-th (n is an integer equal toor greater than 2) quantization parameter of a second line in the sliceand an n-th quantization parameter of the second line, wherein thedifference value is for the n-th quantization parameter of the secondline, and wherein the difference value is coded into the bitstream; andto code a difference value between the slice quantization parameter anda first quantization parameter of the second line, wherein thedifference value is for the first quantization parameter of the secondline, and wherein the difference value is coded into the bitstream. 2.The image coding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coding unitcodes a difference value between the first quantization parameter of thesecond line and a second quantization parameter of the second line,wherein the difference value is for the second quantization parameter ofthe second line, and wherein the difference value is coded into thebitstream.
 3. The image coding apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe coding unit codes a first block in the second line by referring tostatistical information based on a result of entropy coding performed ona predetermined block in the first line in the slice.
 4. The imagecoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coding unit comprisesa first coding unit configured to code difference values of quantizationparameters of the first line, and a second coding unit configured tocode difference values of quantization parameters of the second line,and wherein coding the difference values of quantization parameters ofthe first line, and coding the difference values of quantizationparameters of the second line are performed in parallel.
 5. The imagecoding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first coding unitcodes blocks in the first line using the quantization parameters of thefirst line, the second coding unit codes blocks in the second line usingthe quantization parameters of the second line, and wherein coding theblocks in the first line and coding the blocks in the second line areperformed in parallel.
 6. The image coding apparatus according to claim1, wherein, in a case where the coding unit performs a specific processon a block-line-by-block-line basis, the coding unit codes the firstquantization parameter of the first line using the slice quantizationparameter, and the first quantization parameter of the second line usingthe slice quantization parameter.
 7. The image coding apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the first quantization parameter of thefirst line is a quantization parameter which is first in a coding orderof quantization parameters of the first line, the n-th quantizationparameter of the second line is a quantization parameter which is n-thin the coding order of the quantization parameters of the second line,the first quantization parameter of the second line is a quantizationparameter which is first in a coding order of quantization parameters ofthe second line.
 8. The image coding apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the coding unit codes each of the quantization parameters in thefirst line other than the first quantization parameter in the firstline, using a quantization parameter immediately before the each ofquantization parameters in the first line.
 9. An image decodingapparatus which decodes image data from a bitstream, the image decodingapparatus comprising: a derivation unit configured to derivequantization parameters based on difference values decoded from thebitstream; and a decoding unit configured to decode the image data usingthe quantization parameters, wherein the derivation unit is configured:to derive a first quantization parameter of a first line in a slice byadding a difference value to a slice quantization parameter, wherein thedifference value is a difference value between the slice quantizationparameter and the first quantization parameter of the first line, andwherein the slice quantization parameter is provided to the slice; toderive an n-th (n is an integer equal to or greater than 2) quantizationparameter of a second line in the slice by adding a difference value toan (n−1)-th quantization parameter of the second line, wherein thedifference value is a difference value between the (n−1)-th quantizationparameter of the second line and the n-th quantization parameter of thesecond line; and to derive a first quantization parameter of the secondline by adding a difference value to the slice quantization parameter,wherein the difference value is a difference value between the slicequantization parameter and the first quantization parameter of thesecond line.
 10. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 9,wherein the derivation unit derives a second quantization parameter ofthe second line by adding a difference value to the first quantizationparameter of the second line, wherein the difference value is adifference value between the first quantization parameter of the secondline and the second quantization parameter of the second line.
 11. Theimage decoding apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the decoding unitdecodes a first block in the second line by referring to statisticalinformation based on a result of a process related to entropy codingperformed on a predetermined block in the first line in the slice. 12.The image decoding apparatus according to claim 9, wherein thederivation unit comprises a first derivation unit configured to derivequantization parameters of the first line, and a second derivation unitconfigured to derive quantization parameters of the second line, andwherein derivation by the first derivation unit and derivation by thesecond derivation unit are performed in parallel.
 13. The image decodingapparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: wherein the decodingunit comprises a first decoding unit configured to decode blocks in thefirst line using quantization parameters of the first line, and a seconddecoding unit configured to decode blocks in the second line usingquantization parameters of the second line, and wherein decoding theblocks in the first line and decoding the blocks in the second line areperformed in parallel.
 14. The image decoding apparatus according toclaim 9, wherein, in a case where the derivation unit performs aspecific process on a block-line-by-block-line basis, the derivationunit derives the first quantization parameter of the first line usingthe slice quantization parameter, and the first quantization parameterof the second line using the slice quantization parameter.
 15. The imagedecoding apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first quantizationparameter of the first line is a quantization parameter which is firstin a decoding order of quantization parameters of the first line, then-th quantization parameter of the second line is a quantizationparameter which is n-th in the decoding order of the quantizationparameters of the second line, the first quantization parameter of thesecond line is a quantization parameter which is first in a decodingorder of quantization parameters of the second line.
 16. The imagedecoding apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the deriving unitderives each of quantization parameters in the first line other than thefirst quantization parameter in the first line, using a quantizationparameter immediately before the each of quantization parameters in thefirst line.
 17. An image coding method which generates a bitstream whichis to be decoded by an image decoding method, the image coding methodcomprising: acquiring image data; and coding the image data into thebitstream using quantization parameters, wherein the coding isconfigured: to code a difference value between a slice quantizationparameter and a first quantization parameter of a first line in a slice,wherein the difference value is for the first quantization parameter ofthe first line, wherein the difference value is coded into thebitstream, and wherein the slice quantization parameter is provided tothe slice; and to code a difference value between an (n−1)-th (n is aninteger equal to or greater than 2) quantization parameter of a secondline in the slice and an n-th quantization parameter of the second line,wherein the difference value is for the n-th quantization parameter ofthe second line, and wherein the difference value is coded into thebitstream; and to code a difference value between the slice quantizationparameter and a first quantization parameter of the second line, whereinthe difference value is for the first quantization parameter of thesecond line, and wherein the difference value is coded into thebitstream.
 18. An image decoding method which decodes image data from abitstream, the image decoding method comprising: deriving quantizationparameters based on difference values decoded from the bitstream; anddecoding the image data using the quantization parameters, wherein thederiving is configured: to derive a first quantization parameter of afirst line in a slice by adding a difference value to a slicequantization parameter, wherein the difference value is a differencevalue between the slice quantization parameter and the firstquantization parameter of the first line, and wherein the slicequantization parameter is provided to the slice; to derive an n-th (n isan integer equal to or greater than 2) quantization parameter of asecond line in the slice by adding a difference value to an (n−1)-thquantization parameter of the second line, wherein the difference valueis a difference value between the (n−1)-th quantization parameter of thesecond line and the n-th quantization parameter of the second line; andto derive a first quantization parameter of the second line by adding adifference value to the slice quantization parameter, wherein thedifference value is a difference value between the slice quantizationparameter and the first quantization parameter of the second line.
 19. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program thatcauses a computer to execute an image coding method which generates abitstream which is to be decoded by an image decoding method, the imagecoding method comprising: acquiring image data; and coding the imagedata into the bitstream using quantization parameters, wherein thecoding is configured: to code a difference value between a slicequantization parameter and a first quantization parameter of a firstline in a slice, wherein the difference value is for the firstquantization parameter of the first line, wherein the difference valueis coded into the bitstream, and wherein the slice quantizationparameter is provided to the slice; and to code a difference valuebetween an (n−1)-th (n is an integer equal to or greater than 2)quantization parameter of a second line in the slice and an n-thquantization parameter of the second line, wherein the difference valueis for the n-th quantization parameter of the second line, and whereinthe difference value is coded into the bitstream; and to code adifference value between the slice quantization parameter and a firstquantization parameter of the second line, wherein the difference valueis for the first quantization parameter of the second line, and whereinthe difference value is coded into the bitstream.
 20. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes acomputer to execute an image decoding method which decodes image datafrom a bitstream, the image decoding method comprising: derivingquantization parameters based on difference values decoded from thebitstream; and decoding the image data using the quantizationparameters, wherein the deriving is configured: to derive a firstquantization parameter of a first line in a slice by adding a differencevalue to a slice quantization parameter, wherein the difference value isa difference value between the slice quantization parameter and thefirst quantization parameter of the first line, and wherein the slicequantization parameter is provided to the slice; to derive an n-th (n isan integer equal to or greater than 2) quantization parameter of asecond line in the slice by adding a difference value to an (n−1)-thquantization parameter of the second line, wherein the difference valueis a difference value between the (n−1)-th quantization parameter of thesecond line and the n-th quantization parameter of the second line; andto derive a first quantization parameter of the second line by adding adifference value to the slice quantization parameter, wherein thedifference value is a difference value between the slice quantizationparameter and the first quantization parameter of the second line.